Nigeria braces for escalation in terrorist attacks

Senior political and military figures say government has lost control of security amid wave of Boko Haram bombings, writes The Guardian of UK

The Nigerian government has lost control of security, according to its own advisers, and lacks a coherent strategy to counter the threat of terrorism.
Senior political and military figures have told The Guardian of their growing pessimism over the government’s ability to contain Boko Haram, the Islamist sect responsible for a deadly wave of bombings and kidnappings in northern Nigeria, and are bracing themselves for an escalation in attacks.
“We have a serious problem in Nigeria and there is no sense that the government has a real grip,” a senior official close to the government said on condition of anonymity. “The situation is not remotely under control. It is just a matter of time before we see more large-scale attacks that pose a significant threat to national security, and now Nigeria’s economic growth is also at risk.”
Boko Haram – whose name is often translated as “western education is sinful” – has become increasingly sophisticated in its operations since first launching mass attacks in northern Nigeria in 2010.
The sect first began using violence against the Nigerian government and police in 2003, and is believed to have advanced its operations in recent months by attracting funding and support from al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Shabaab.
In 2009 Boko Haram launched a new phase of operations following the killing of its leader, Muhammad Yusuf, by police and security forces.
Since then, a spate of deadly church bombings has left hundreds dead, while attacks on mobile phone base stations have paralysed telecommunications in northern Nigeria, causing an estimated £3m worth of damage.
The government has attempted to fight back against the sect, and claims to have killed at least 35 suspected militants earlier this week, and detained 60 others during raids in Adamawa and Yobe states in northern Nigeria – two of the areas most affected by the violence.
But its failure to stop Boko Haram attacks has led many to question the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, who promised in March that security services would have ended the insurgency by June.
A senior defence official, who asked not to be named, expressed concern that the government had failed to demonstrate the necessary political leadership to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram.
“Leadership is the problem,” said the source. “When we had military dictatorships in Nigeria, we did not experience this kind of weak decision-making. There is no way we can combat this threat without more decisive action. You cannot divorce what is happening from weak leadership and the failure to repair the divisions in our society.”
“The level of poverty in the north, and the way southerners are behaving with impunity – it is not surprising that there is this level of discontent in northern Nigeria.”
Experts have frequently attributed the rise of Boko Haram to the growing divide between rich and poor in Nigeria, compounded by regionalism that has often pitched the largely Christian south against the predominantly Muslim north.
Of the two-thirds of Nigerians – 100 million people – living below the poverty line, Nigeria’s national bureau of statistics said that the number living on less than one dollar a day was higher in the north, with rates of around 70%, compared with rates closer to 50% in the south. Much of the north has illiteracy rates of above 75%.
“These acts are a reaction against decades of neglect,” the source close to the government said. “They are similar factors to what we saw driving revolution in the Arab spring.
“The Boko Haram phenomenon underlines the failure of the Nigerian state,” said Manir Dan Ali, editor of the Daily Trust newspaper. “The government has ignored the advice of its own security officials, who warned of the danger signals long ago, and worse, lacks a coherent strategy for dealing with the problem and its underlining causes of poverty, neglect and a lack of opportunities for the young.”
Resentment towards the Nigerian authorities has been compounded by human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings, experts say.
“Male members of security forces have been going in and raiding women’s quarters – terrifying the women and humiliating the men,” said Chidi Odinkalu, chair of Nigeria’s national human rights commission. “These are minimal things that the state should be able to achieve – to train the soldiers on these sensitivities and use female soldiers. You can’t fight an insurgency by alienating part of the community.”
The source close to the government said: “There are middle-ranking senior officers who understand the counter-productive nature of raids and extrajudicial executions. But that understanding is not filtering down quickly enough to junior officers – they are making bad decisions and they are not adequately trained. The police are ethically broken, and the armed forces don’t trust the police.
“If you talk to Nigerians in the north, the misbehaviour of the security forces has become a significant factor in strengthening support for Boko Haram.”
The military said it had addressed the problem of abuses by security services and changed its approach to operations in northern Nigeria. “We are beginning to win the hearts and minds of the people,” said Colonel Muhammad Yerima, director of defence information. “We are closing in on the terrorists – the more we catch them and interrogate them and get information, and stop the people that are supporting them, the more we will be able to combat this threat.”
But the relationship between Boko Haram and officials is complex, experts say, with some members of the security services assisting the sect. “Some members of the security forces have been working as double agents,” said Adunola Abiola, founder of Think Security Africa, a thinktank specialising in security issues in Africa.
“Improved and regular vetting of security personnel is very important for improving security management in the country generally.”
The Nigerian government has been under renewed pressure to combat Boko Haram since the US decided to designate three members of the sect as foreign terrorists, giving US authorities powers under US law to take action.
“This designation would in theory give various departments and agencies in the US government the power to actively pursue these men which could in theory result in a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty and possibly even territorial integrity,” said Abiola. “It was severely embarrassing for the federal government and reinforced domestic criticism that it was incapable of performing the most basic of sovereign functions.”

The FG should disregard this UK Guardian assertion. They will never report anything good about our country, Nigeria. They always look for the awkward side and story that put us on the receiving end to seek their assistant for us to be spending our money for them. They will never offer genuine hands.

The distraction, ineffective Gov. and lack of development we experience amidst of plenty are largely due to them, these foreign advanced countries, so that we can be coming to them. Today they do not come directly but use indirect means such as through some of our people, who themselves may not realise that they are being used to frustrate and sabotage their country. For example, who miss direct OBJ to seek third term, that they are behind him? How many articles written by black people do you find publish in their newspapers?

Our security forces should continue to do what they can to finish off the Boko and those behind them. They should not just concentrate on the ordinary. Don’t invite foreign forces. They are only looking for our money.

This report is not only malicious but also damaging and bias. I am not giving the government of Nigeria a pass mark though, but it is dis-heartening to say they have lost the fight against boko-haram. The report claimed Boko-Haram started attacking government in 2003; was that a typographical error? let them show us proof of this. Nigerian government did not step up effort to stop Boko Haram because of the tagging of boko haram’s top men but because of the senseless waste of human lives and properties, socio-economic implications and embarrassment to the country at large. That America will bring its forces to Nigeria to tackle the insurgency will never happen in Nigeria. What soulutions have the Americans proffered to the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan? Why would the same Americans that suggested negotiation with Boko Haram now bring in force to tackle them? Do they know the terrain more than the local force on ground? Do they have a science to identify boko haram member on the street? Please throw away this sensless report, it’s irritating!

justiche

The cause of BH is that the north rejected education as they are still rejecting now. 2 it is because the north want to Islamalize Nigeria. They are very clear about it, so stop this sentiments

No no…. the issue of boko haram has nothing to do with poverty. It was caused by in justice.However, the statistic given by that organization was very in correct.How can they said pover is much higher in the north where there were numerous economic opportunities. The proportion of the southerners that are living in the north in order to earn a living is trice of that of the northerners living in the south where armed robbery is the order of the daty. Where people are being killed every day like animals. Snatching of jewelleries and other valuable things is another terrerosim character bedevilling the south. On 2011 elections, where were you when northrners were killed en-masse because of june 12 elections. You all kept quiet. Or were trying say that those t killed deserved to be killed. I believe this problem of boko haram would soon be over, insha ALLAH. My advice is this, our diversity is a blessing but if we can handle it carefully. So, let us be wise so that we can forge ahead. Nigeria is a great naiton, we know our problems, and since we know them, it is as simple as A B C D, that means we can solve them! I do pray for my country.

Olulana

Your claims are simply boko haramic, Suyudi.

Es3

This is the kind of report that the Nation newspaper will not miss for anything in the world!!! Infact, to them it fits straight into their ACN’s evil propaganda machine and pays well to bring it home!!! I had expected a good and objective paper to add their own information and figures to that published that of a foreign paper towards the end to reflect the truth and reality on ground, but no with the Nation!

On education, decades of purposeful acts aimed at not educating northerners by their succesive political leaders for political reasons are well known to the Nation, but did the paper say anything? Why and how did the leaders in south manage to educate their own people, even at enormous costs? Now, even if the present government wants to reverse that poor litracy in the north, it is possible with just a snap of the finger or it is a process?

On human right abuses by the security forces? How did they do it while at the Niger Delta? Oh!, then it was done to the people (animals) that deserved it as such there was hardly any hue or cry from the press or any part of the country on the terrifying abuses? The towns, villages, hamlets and creeks were left to mourn their fate alone!

Now, do we really expect that same security forces to change now it is the north and the turn of the ‘human beings’ with “human rights”? If we failed to condemn it then, what moral justifications do we have to even raise the issue now?!

On leadership? I (for one), if faced with what had confronted the President That is, having traitors and sponsors of Boko Haram in government at very high levels, I would wage the war with the strategy very close to my heart and only known to a very trusted few! In such a way, people watching and gathering information for Boko Haram will be lost and they will be starved of information that gave them advantage before now and results begin to emerge as we having of late?!

kariyoung

The Guardian is a right wing newspaper in the UK and it should not be taken serious, and the so call anonmous person who was interview by the author of this article is an ex-military looking for money to spent. So all right minded people should not take it serious.

Emeka

I wonder where the long mouthed and watery mouthed tribesmen are…….I can’t imagine the type of comments that would be hitting this headline if it had anything relating to Igbos……….

now that BOK HARAM activity has given some relief, is now U.K news paper want to write rubbish. why is it only such news that intent to paint Nigeria as a HELL that interest you western journalist? no other thing in Nigeria that worth your frontline page or news line apart from the contrary? is not their fault but our clueless leader but sagacious looters. NTA can not even operate satellite station, AIT tried it and quit no nigeria base television you can get on the SAT, why would foreign media not describe you as it wishes other nigerians television stations in th U.K have been taken over by Church programmes and advert.

Olulana

The language of the reporter is the language of the Boko Harams. They are fully settled in the UK too. I hope their govt will watch out, otherwise it may soon be their turn, and by then, Nigeria go just dey laughhhh